On March 13, 2017, the Arkansas Senate voted once again to reject SB 357, a measure that would have banned the smoking of medical marijuana in the state. With a vote of 11-15, the measure fell 13 votes short of garnering the two-thirds majority required to amend the state’s medical marijuana law.

Sponsored by Sen. Jason Rapert, the bill initially failed on March 6, but was revived when state senators voted to expunge the initial vote. After the bill failed for the second time, another attempt to expunge the vote was tried but was ultimately defeated.

According to Arkansas Online, during the debate over the measure, Rapert told his colleagues to reject the measure because the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Act “was never about medicine to begin with.” But Sen. Linda Chesterfield rejected that argument stating that “voters told us what they wanted.”

“I urge you not to substitute your will for theirs,” Chesterfield said.

Undaunted, Rapert told Arkansas News that he could still attempt to change the law by amending SB 721, a bill aimed at altering the state’s medical marijuana law. Introduced on the last day to file legislation, the bill is in a “shell form,” with details to be added later.

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California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones has been on a mission to ensure state-legal cannabis businesses have commercial insurance coverage and with his announcement of the first California cannabis surety bond program on Feb. 21, 2018, he continues to make progress.

More strife is on the horizon for Ohio’s troubled medical cannabis program. On Feb. 20, 2018, a group of unsuccessful medical cannabis applicants, led by Jimmy Gould of CannAscend Ohio LLC, filed a lawsuit challenging the state’s medical cannabis licensing process.

While the province of Newfoundland and Labrador has its key policies in place for recreational legalization and has secured a supply agreement with Canopy Growth Corporation (TSX:WEED) to provide cannabis for the province, it is now ready to hear from prospective cannabis retailers.

MJINews was started to aggregate, report and opine on various ways to make money in the legal marijuana industry. While medical marijuana has been legal in many states for years, its legalization for recreational use in Colorado and Washington in 2014 has catapulted the entire subject to new heights.
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